Bottle cap removing and recapping device



B. P. SCHUMACHER 3,038,178

June 12, 1962 Filed 001;. 10, 1960 B. P. SCHUMACHER BOTTLE CAP REMOVINGAND RECAPPING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 12, 1962 Filed 001.. 10, 1960F I C17. 5 1 INVENTOR.

BERIVJRD I? Stfifi/VJCAER I Arf mm United States Patent 3,638,178 BOTTLECAP REMOVING AND RECAPPING DEVME Bernard P. Schumacher, 1203 1st St.,Bismarck, N. Dak.

Filed Oct. 10, 1960, Ser. No. 61,658

2 Claims. (Cl. 7-14.15)

This invention relates to a novel arrangement and construction of adevice comprising in combination a bottle cap removing and recappingdevice. Particular reference is had to the type of bottle used inconnection with beverages, such as soda pop, and using a crimped type ofbottle cap.

It is an object of this invention to provide a portable hand holdingtype of device comprising a bottle cap remover and recapper which iscomfortably held in the palm of the hand and which permits substantialpressure to be easily exerted in either removing the bottle cap from thebottle top or in recapping said bottle.

It is another object of this invention to provide a device comprising incombination a bottle cap remover and recapper having a portion thereofadapted to spread a cap somewhat for its removal and for restoring saidcap to its original condition in replacing the same in recapping thebottle.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a device comprising aportable bottle cap remover and recapper having in operative associationwith the bottle cap receiving chamber therein a yielding member toengage the free edge or skirt portion of a bottle cap to somewhat spreadsaid skirt portion of the same for easy removal of said cap from abottle.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide a devicecomprising in combination a bottle cap remover and recapper ofsubstantially a cup-shaped form for grasping in the palm of the hand, abottle cap receiving chamber therein, said chamber being adapted torestore to original condition a deformed cap, and a cap engaging memberin operative association with said chamber to engage the skirt portionof a cap in its removal from said chamber for somewhat spreading theedge portion of said cap for an easy removal of the same from a bottletop.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fullyset forth in the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer tosimilar parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of applicants device in side elevation;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1, as indicatedby the arrows, with a portion thereof shown in dotted line;

FIG. 3 is a view in central vertical section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2as indicated by the arrows, showing applicants device in one operatingposition on a broken away portion of a bottle;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that shown in FIG. 3 showing applicantsdevice in different operating positions;

FIG. 5 is a view in central vertical section showing a modification ofapplicants device in operating position;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to that shown in FIG. 5 showing a differentoperating position;

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of another modification of applicantsdevice;

FIG. 8 is a view in vertical section taken on lines 8 8 of FIG. 7 asindicated by the arrows;

FIG. 9 is a vertical section still another modification of applicantsdevice on an enlarged scale shown in operating position with a portionthereof broken away; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view in vertical section taken on line 10 ofFIG. 9 as indicated by the arrows.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1-4,applicants bottle cap removing and recapping 3,@38,l78 Patented June 12,1962 device 10 is shown comprising a substantially frusto conical shapedmember 12 forming the body portion of ap plicants device and this willbe formed of suitable material, such as of wood or plastic material, andis here shown having a somewhat rounded bottom portion 13 and a fiatupper surface 14. Said device is of a size and shape to be comfortablyheld in the palm of the hand.

Extending centrally transversely of said body portion 12 and beingrecessed therein is a bottle cap receiving chamber 15 beingsubstantially cylindrical in form but having somewhat outwardly flaredsides 16 and having an open front end 17 opening into said surface 14.Said chamber will be of a size to very nicely receive thereinto a bottlecap 18 and the adjacent portion of a bottle 19. Said chamber is hereshown having an opening 20 of a reduced diameter extending upwardlythrough said top portion 13 and forming an offset or shoulder portion21.

In the embodiment of the invention here illustrated, a lining member 23of suitably rigid material is disposed in said chamber 15 to line theWalls and shoulder portion thereof. Seated at the bottom of said liningmember on said shoulder 21 and about said opening 20 is a resilientcushioning member 25 in the form of a washer.

Recessed within said member 12 is a chamber 27 which is shown to betriangular in vertical longitudinal section and being verticallydisposed in relation to said chamber 15 and being adjacent a side ofsaid lining member 23 outwardly of said chamber 15. Vertically disposedin said chamber 27 is a cap engaging member 30 substantially in the formof a hook having a straight shank 31 having an upper rearwardly bent endportion 32 disposed in a horizontal recess 27a in said chamber 27 andbeing pivotally held therein by pressure of the adjacent portion of saidlining member 23, as indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The bottom portion 33 of said hook member 30 is forwardly reversely bentto extend through a slot 23a in said lining member 23 adjacent the openend of said chamber 15. Said bottom portion is substantially U- shapedin form with the free end portion thereof being inclined somewhatoutwardly and will have a relatively small transverse dimension.

Disposed in a small transverse recess 27B opening into said chamber 27at the lower central portion thereof is a coil spring 35 pressingagainst said shank 31 to urge said lower cap engaging portion 33inwardly transversely of said chamber 15. Said hook member 30 will beformed of a suitably rigid material and it has been found desirable thatit have a somewhat narrow width to have its free end portion easilydisposable up under the skirt portion 18a of said bottle cap.

Secured to said lining member 23 and extending inwardly of said chamber15 substantially oppositely of said cap engaging portion 33 is aresilient flange member 37 adapted to removably retain a bottle capwithin said chamber 15 for bottle recapping purposes.

In use, said member 10 will be held in the palm of the hand and will fitvery comfortably therein. It will be held very firmly by somewhatclosing the fingers thereabout and thus the operator is enabled to veryeasily exert a substantial amount of pressure for the removal of abottle cap. The bottle 19 may either be held in hand or be supported ona surface.

Said portion 12 will be placed into an operational relationship with abottle cap by having said cap moved inwardly of said chamber 15. Asindicated in FIG. 3, the lower outwardly flared skirt portion of thebottle cap will be easily pressed past the yielding flange member 37 andthe lower hook portion 33 of the cap engaging member 30 will be movedinwardly of said chamber 27 by being pressed against said spring 35. Asthe skirt portion of said bottle cap is moved beyond the lower endportion 33 of said cap engaging member 30 within said chamber 15, saidcap engaging member will be automatically urged outwardly by spring 35to engage the skirt portion of said bottle cap.-

Said member 10 will be tilted as indicated in dotted line in FIG. 4 by atwist of the hand of the operator, which action will cause said portion33 to exert leverage against the adjacent skirt portion of the cap. Thefulcrum point for the leverage will be the point of engagement of theopposite upper outer edge portion of the bottle cap against the adjacentinner portion of the chamber 15 and against a portion of the shoulder21. Thus the bottle cap will be very nicely and quickly removed and willbe retained within said chamber 15 by said lower cap engaging portion 33and the flange member 37.

The action of removing a cap from a bottle results in the skirt portionof the cap being somewhat pulled away from the bottle or in beingspread. To more easily remove the bottle cap, the bottle may be rotatedto rotate the skirt portion of the cap in engagement with said portion33 to pull away the lower edge portion of the cap from the bottle eitherpartially or all the way thereabout.

If it is desired to recap the bottle, the open end of the bottle willsimply be moved within said chamber 15 against the bottle cap thereinand a downward pressure will be exerted through the palm of the handagainst the upper rounded portion of said member 10 to press said bottlecap downwardly whereby said bottle will be easily and quickly recapped.The bottle with the cap thereon will be removed from the chamber 15 bybeing angled past the resilient flange 37 and will thusv he slipped bythe portion 33 of the cap engaging member 30. The chamber 15 will be ofa width whereby the skirt portion of the bottle cap will be pressed tore-form the cap into substantially its original form in cases where theskirt portion of the cap is spread to any extent.

With reference to FIGS. and 6, a modification 40 of applicants device isshown comprising a member 42 forming the body portion of the devicewhich is here shown to be substantially identical in the form of saidmember 12 and having a rounded bottom portion 43 and a fiat uppersurface 44.

Extending inwardly substantially centrally transversely of said member42 is a substantially cylindrical recess 45 forming a chamber extendinginwardly of said member 42 a distance equal to approximately the heightof the bottle cap 18 here shown in connection with the bottle 19. Saidchamber 45 has a somewhat flared opening 49 into the surface 44 and hasa portion 50 of reduced diameter extending oppositely through the bottom43 whereby an annular shoulder portion 51 is formed.

Disposed within said chamber 45 is a lining member 53 of suitably rigidmaterial. Said lining member 53 has formed at one side 48 as anextension of a portion thereof an outwardly flaring hook portion 54.Said hook portion 54 extends outwardly of said member 42 and of saidsurface 44. The inner diameter of said chamber 45 with the lining member53 therein will be of a size to just nicely receive therein a bottle capof regular form and is adapted to re-form a deformed bottle cap.

With reference to FIG. 5, to remove a bottle cap, a bottle and cap willbe positioned as indicated with the hook portion 54 engaging the skirtportion 18a of the bottle cap 18 and with the adjacent upper portion ofsaid bottle cap being pressed against said lining member 53 on therounded shoulder 56 formed at the side just above the hook portion 54,which point of engagement will serve as a fulcrum point with the bottleitself being pulled in a direction away from the hook 54 or the member40 held in the palm of the hand being pressed to tilt in a directionaway from said point of engagement.

Here again if it is desired to more easily remove said bottle cap, thebottle may be partially rotated to cause said hook portion 54 to spreada circumferential portion of the skirt of said bottle cap away from itsgripping engagement with the bottle.

In recapping a bottle, the cap may first be partially placed within thechamber 45 or positioned just on top of a bottle with applicants device40 then being pressed thereonto forcing the cap onto the bottle, and asthe cap is also pressed into the chamber 45, the snug fit of saidchamber will press the cap into its original form for tight engagementabout the bottle.

With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, a modification 60 of applicants deviceis shown comprising a member forming a body portion 62 identical inconstruction to said body portion 42 and having a chamber 65 formedtherein similar to said chamber 45 with said chamber having a portion 66of reduced diameter extending through the upper curved portion 63 ofsaid member 62 forming an annular shoulder 68 therebetween. Said chamber65 has a somewhat flared opening 69 through the flat surface portion 64of said member 62.

Disposed within said chamber 65 is a lining member 71 formed of suitablyrigid material being seated on the shoulder 68 and having a plurality ofhook portions 73, 74 and 75 extending outwardly of said surface 64. Saidhook portions 73-75 are reversely curved, as indicated in FIG. 8, toengage the skirt portion of a bottle cap whereby a bottle held in thehand of the operator upon being rotated will result in said hookportions 73--75 spreading said skirt portion of the bottle cap away fromthe bottle for a very easy removal of the bottle cap.

The cap is easily removed from or placed within said chamber 55 by beingtilted with reference to said chamber. For recapping a bottle, the sameoperation will be followed as described in the operation above.

With reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, a modification of applicants device isshown comprising a member 82 forming a body portion similar to said bodyportion 42 and having a cylindrical chamber 85 formed therein with aflared lower end portion and being similar to said chamber 45, with anupper portion 86 of reduced diameter extending upwardly through saidmember 82. Disposed within said chamber 85 is shown a lining member 87of suitably rigid material.

At an outer side of said lining member 87 is a substantially narrowvertically disposed chamber 88 communicating with said chamber 85through a vertical slot 89 formed in the adjacent wall portion of saidlining member 87. Disposed in said chamber 88 is a hook member 90 havinga somewhat curved vertically extending shank portion 91 and aright-angled upper portion 92 extending through said slot 89 into saidchamber 85. At the lower end of said hook portion 90 is a forwardlyreversely bent cap engaging portion 92 arranged and constructed toextend inwardly of said chamber 85 sufficiently to engage the skirtportion of a bottle cap therein to remove the same from a bottle.

Disposed in said chamber 85 at the upper portion thereof is a platespring member 95 having a vertically extending portion 96 disposedthrough a small slot in said lining member 87 to be anchored adjacentthe outer side of said Extending inwardly of said chamber 85 from apoint diametrically opposite of said hook member 90 is a resilient orspring-like arm 97 which normally lining member.

Will be disposed in a horizontal position and underlies the inwardlyextending portion 92 of said book 90.

In operation, when a bottle 19 with a cap 18 thereon is positioned insaid chamber 85, as indicated in FIG. 9, the cap engaging portion 92will engage the under portion of the skirt of the bottle cap 18. Thebottle will then be levered at an angle in a direction away from saidbook 90 to pry the bottle away from said cap 18. This pressure willcause said book 90 to ride downwardly against the tension of the springarm 97. The cap will be pried off of the bottle and will drop freely outof said chamber 85 with said book 90 being urged upwardly in itsstarting operating position by the tension of said arm 92.

When it is desired to recap a bottle, the cap may be positioned over theopen end of the bottle and the applicants device will then be positionedonto the cap and by a downward pressure the lower outwardly flaredportions of the chamber 85 will cause the cap to be tightly seated toseal the bottle. The bottle and cap are readily removed by being angledin the direction of the hook and thus easily removed from the chamber85.

Thus it is seen that I have provided a very simply made bottle capremover and recapper which nicely fits in the palm of the hand andpermits a very easy and efiicient removal of a bottle cap from a bottleor a recapping of said bottles.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made in theform, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts, Withoutdeparting from the scope of applicants invention which, generallystated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects aboveset forth, in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and definedin the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bottle cap removing and recapping device having in combination,

a hand held body member having a chamber recessed therein and open atone side thereof,

a unitary lining member of substantially rigid material disposed in saidchamber, said unitary member having a cylindrical inner portionterminating in an inner end angled annular shoulder and having a flaredouter free end portion, said unitary member having a depth substantiallythe height of a bottle cap and a transverse dimension to very snuglyreceive a bottle cap therein, and spaced hook portions unitary with saidflared portion extending outwardly thereof as an extension thereof andhaving inwardly curved hook portions terminating at the points whichwould represent an outward extension of the cylindrical portion of saidlining member, whereby said hook portions engage the under skirt portionof a bottle cap for removing the same, and said lining member receives abottle cap therein to crimp the same onto a bottle to recap said bottle.2. The structure set forth in claim 1, said hand held body membercomprising a substantially cup-shaped member and said cup-shaped memberhaving an aperture extending from said chamber through the other sidethereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,492,908 Trumbo May 6, 1924 1,944,310 Wagner Jan. 23, 1934 2,514,565Capriccio July 11, 1950 2,514,566 Capriccio July 11, 1950 2,641,397Sander June 9, 1953 2,718,801 Finley Sept. 27, 1955 2,801,557 BelpedioAug. 6, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 183,821 Great Britain Mar. 8, 1923 12,608Great Britain 7

